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Super Eagles Fizzle Out in The First Round of World Cup
The lone-goal defeat of the Super Eagles by the Argentines in the first
appearance of the Nigerian team at the World Cup tournament was described by sports analysts commendable, saying the Super Eagles played well but lost gallantly to a better side.
With the defeat of the Nigerian team, the hope of the Super Eagles to at least get through to the second round of the tournament has been dashed.
Shocked by the ouster from the World Cup series, it was said a soccer fan in Lafia, Nasarawa State slumped and died on Friday, 14 June.
The middle-aged man was said to have died at a viewing center along Makurdi Road in the state capital.
Meanwhile, the captain of the Super Eagles, Austin Okocha has resigned from playing for the national team.
He however said he would continue to play for any club that decides to take him as his contract with the Paris-based PSG Football Club has expired
The opening match of the World Cup tournament in which Senegal defeated France, the defending
champion by one goal to nil in the encounter, described as a major upset in the 17th FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, is seen as a great boost to other four African teams in the competition, including Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
The Senegalese scored the lone goal in the 30th minute of the match and held to the score until full time.
It was at that point President Olusegun Obasanjo sent a solidarity message to the Nigerian team to put in similar effort as the Senegalese to win their matches and come home with the World Cup. President Obasanjo in a telephone conversation spoke with the
players together and later discussed with six of the the players one after the other.
He encouraged them to put in their best effort to win the crucial match in order to brighten their chance of qualifying for the second round of the tournament, after losing to Argentina on Sunday, but, that was not to be.
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